Language and the Law 

The Sámi language has received official recognition in the Nordic countries through a Sámi language law. In Finland and Norway, a Sámi language law was introduced in 1992 (revised in Finland in 2003). On 1 April 2000, the Sámi language (all varieties) was recognised as an official minority language in Sweden.

The Minority Languages Act entitles Sámi people to use Sámi in their contacts with the authorities and courts within the 'Sámi administration area'. The administration area covers Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk and Kiruna municipalities. In practice, this means that Southern Sámi is excluded, as no Southern Sámi municipalities are included in the administration area.

The Minority Languages Act has not worked particularly well to date. This is due to several factors. For example, Sweden's previous language policy has meant that many Sámi cannot speak their own language sufficiently well to use it in official contexts. Furthermore, there are not enough people working for the authorities who can speak and write Sámi. There can also be an unwillingness on the part of officials to oblige Sámi people and arrange an interpreter, when they know that the person in question can speak Swedish.

Despite this, the fact that Sweden has adopted a law on minority languages can be of great importance for the future. The fact that a language is recognized as an official minority language is important when it comes to raising the status of the language and to justifying the preservation of the language. The administration area for Sámi is expected to be extended so that Southern Sámi areas are also covered.

In February 2000, Sweden signed the Council of Europe's minority language convention, which provides minority languages with far-reaching protection.

Source courtesy of: eng.samer.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1186